Everything happens for a purpose.
by theoneandonly
Summary: Hermione has a mission from Dumbledore and goes back to the time of the Marauders. (Severus/Hermione) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE R/R!
1. Prologue

A/N hey, this is my first fic EVER so please be gentle. I know it's not that long, i'm open to suggestions for changes and stuff as well.  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing. They own everything  
  
Another year, another sorting...he usually didn't pay much attention to the sorting ceremony at the beginning of each year - seen one, seen them all - and this particular one was hardly any different. Another batch of annoying First Years to test his patience - or what was left of it anyway. He looked up as they were herded in to the Great Hall by Minerva McGonagall, eyes wide in amazement.  
  
*Such innocence* he thought to himself, could he have been so young and naive once? He sighed, *Once, but so long ago*  
  
Out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of a familiar face, *Ah, that must be the Potter boy, the resemblance to James is remarkable*  
  
He couldn't help the feeling of utter loathing when his thoughts turned to James, but old habits die hard after being mortal enemies for most of their lives. *Yes* he thought as Harry moved closer to him, *but those are definitely Lily's eyes*  
  
"Ahem, a-as I wa-was s-s-suh-saying P-Professor..." He sighed again and turned his attention back to Professor Quirrel who was going on about vampires or zombies or something.  
  
He soon drifted back into his own thoughts though, and didn't even notice when the Sorting Hat began to sing, or even when Minerva started to call out the names of to new students to be sorted, one by one.  
  
And then he heard her name.  
  
*No, it can't be, how is this possible?* a thousand questions galloped through his mind. He snapped his head around and looked questionably at Dumbledore, and instead of seeing a mirror image of his own confused expression as he was expecting, Dumbledores' eyes were twinkling merrily and he gave a small sly wink. *HE KNEW! HE KNEW ALL ALONG!*  
  
His head spun around and his eyes settled on Minerva. She looked back at him with an odd closed expression on her face, but he thought he could see a small hint of a smile playing on the edges of her lips. * SHE KNEW AS WELL!*  
  
He quickly glanced around at the other staff members, but none of them showed any indication that anything was out of the ordinary.  
  
Food appeared in front of him, but he realised he had lost his appetite. He sat there numb, his mind suddenly blank. He didn't understand how she could be here - but years of experience under the watchful eye of Albus Dumbledore had taught him that all would be revealed eventually, and that now was neither the time, nor the place to try to unravel the mysteries of his universe.  
  
He closed his eyes, and the long suppressed memories of her began slowly filtering to the surface of his mind. Cursing under his breath, he opened his eyes and forced the memories back behind the stone wall he had built around them.  
  
To his left he could hear that idiot Quirrel twittering on about something else, but he needed a distraction. He looked around the room and focused on the first thing, or rather, person he saw - thankfully it wasn't her - it was Harry Potter. The great James' son. His mouth formed an automatic sneer as he for a second time thought of James, but again he reminded himself that this was neither the time nor the place. Yet despite 'the distraction' he could feel the stone wall begin to shake. *Damn, it only made it worse. Thank Merlin the feast is almost over*  
  
As the school song started he could almost see the dust starting to crumble from the stone wall and cracks snaking their way across it.  
  
The instant the song finished, he quickly got up and excused himself from the table. He bolted from the room - the cracks grew larger - and practically running through the corridors only just managed to make in inside his private quarters before the wall collapsed in a cloud of dust. 


	2. Chapter 1

Hey, sorry it took so long, Went away over Christmas and New Year, you know the deal. Plus it was my B-day and i still haven't quite recovered from it....

I admit, the first chapter was a bit confusing, so for all you confunded people, Snape was looking at Harry, he was familiar because he looks so much like James. He didn't see Hermione, just heard her name. He couldn't bring himself to look at her. (i guess i should have made that clear) oh yeah, and there is another fic out there that has just started, i forgot to take note of the title or author though and i think it will turn out to be rather similar to mine at some point, but i like to think at least some of my ideas are original.

Hermione Granger sighed as she stepped onto the Hogwarts Express. It was one of the last times she would make this trip as a student of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, it being her 7th year and all.

She hadn't spotted Ron or Harry yet, but she knew they couldn't be far away, the train was scheduled to depart in 10 minutes. She dragged her trunk along the carriages until she found an empty compartment and then sat down to wait for them. Stretching her long legs out in front of her, she admired the tan that she had got that Summer in France. It was becoming quite a tradition for the Grangers to go to France during the break between years at Hogwarts, and this year was no exception. *Probably 'cos I always end up looking as pale as Moaning Myrtle after spending 10 months of the year in the Scottish Highlands _sans_ sun* she thought wryly to herself. It had been especially good this Summer as she had gotten an owl to say that she was Head Girl just before they left for France. 

It was like a fresh start, an opportunity to put the events of the past 5 years behind her. After helping to stop Voldemort from acquiring the Philosophers Stone (A/N I'm in New Zealand so it's British versions all the way) in her first year, she went on to face a giant spider and was Petrified by a basilisk in her second. In her third helped Sirius escape and freed a condemned Hippogriff , went through the death of a schoolmate - Cedric Diggory - in her fourth, a run in with The Order of The Phoenix (a splinter group of the Death Eaters which formed after Voldemort returned to signify his 'rise from the ashes') and a long distance relationship with a Quidditch champion in her 5th, and the death of another schoolmate - Colin Creevy (a horrible broomstick accident) and last year, the spectacular breakout of the Lestranges from Azkaban who then went on to come and terrorise Harry . (A/N I know it's really long winded, but I had to give some sort of explanation as to what went on in 5th and 6th years, and I couldn't really do that without 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th...)

"MIAW" Hermione jumped and looked down at her feet. "Sorry Crookshanks!" Her parents had made her put him in a pet carrier to go through Kings Cross Station as it was easier to carry everything that way. She bent down and undid the clasp, and Crookshanks sauntered out with his nose and tail in the air. Hermione reached out to pick him up, but he side stepped her and leapt onto the opposite seat and sat as far away from her as possible. "Fine then, be that way" the last thing she wanted to deal with right now was a temperamental kitty cat. 

Just then the door slid open and Ron and Harry were standing there looking very red and gasping for air. There was a whistle and a jolt as the train moved off and they both fell forwards into a tangled heap on the floor. "Cutting it a bit fine, aren't we boys?" smirked Hermione.

"P-Percy - the - b-bloody - prat!" wheezed Ron, trying to disentangle himself from Harry.

"What did he do this time?" queried Hermione with one eyebrow raised as Harry and Ron hoisted themselves onto the seat opposite her.

It was Harry - still breathing rather heavily - who spoke next, as Ron, instead of regaining his composure, turned redder and redder. "Percy, as you know from our owls, has been made Vice Head - under Mr Weasley in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office at the Ministry. Well, Mr Weasley got his hands on another muggle car and - um - 'altered' it a bit - but it couldn't fly or anything this time" he added hastily as Hermione's eyes widened.

"He just made it roomier and put more storage space in it and stuff, you know, so he could fit everyone and everything in, and then Percy caught wind of it and went and confronted Mr Weasley about it -"  
"HE WAS GOING TO ARREST HIS OWN FATHER!" bellowed Ron "Him and dad had a huge argument about it and in the end dad threatened to suspend Percy or to transfer him to the Office for House-Elf Relocation" "That quickly shut him up - but it made us really late" finished Harry.

Hermione sat there and looked at the two of them for a while. * Haha they look so cute when they are angry* It was then she noticed how much Ron and Harry had changed over the Summer. Oh sure they had changed a lot in the past 2 years, but it was now she noticed that they were young men. (as opposed to teenagers)

They had both gotten taller, Ron was now about 6'4" while Harry was around 6'2". She looked at Ron and noticed that his features had evened out a bit and his nose was now in perfect proportion to his face. His hair had lightened a bit and was now a dark strawberry blonde, however freckles still covered his face. She turned her attention to Harry. His hair hadn't changed at all, it still stuck out all over the place, but there was something different about him. There was a sadness in his emerald eyes. *Hardly surprising after what he's gone through in the past 6 years, what we've all been through* 

She snapped out of her reverie and found Ron and Harry staring at her. Suddenly self conscious, and blushed. *Hmmm, guess they noticed my new look then*

Hermione, that summer, had decided to 'improve' her look and to start loosening up a little. She had gone shopping in muggle London with her mother and bought some new clothes - a present for being appointed Head Girl of Hogwarts this year. She had also gone to one of London's top salons where they had given her a few tips on how to apply makeup and do her hair and stuff. 

That morning she had decided to wear her favourite outfit. A Carolina blue (here ya go Deb!) one shoulder tank top with a knee length denim skirt. Her auburn hair, instead of being frizzy and bushy fell lightly to her shoulders in soft waves, her blue rimmed chocolate eyes sparkled, and a few sun induced freckles dotted the bridge of her nose. She knew it was a tad dressy for school, but it was the last time she would be wearing muggle clothes for a while, and it was the only time she could show off her tan as it would be hidden under long black robes all year. She felt like a million dollars, and by the way Ron and Harry were staring, she knew she must have looked it.

"Gawk much" she said, trying to suppress a giggle.

Both Ron and Harry flushed a deep red and looked at the floor.

"Look guys, I know I've changed a little on the outside, but you know, I'm still old boring bookworm Hermione on the inside."

Harry was the first to look up, peering uncertainly from under his fringe.

Hermione stuck her tongue out at him. He grinned and elbowed Ron who also looked up with a wide grin on his face.

"What's up with Crookshanks?" Ron asked, noticing that the feline was sitting opposite Hermione glaring at her as opposed to curled up on her lap as usual. He was obviously still angry that she had forgotten about him. 

"Here Crookshanks," she cooed, "he's just a bit upset with me for forgetting to take him out of his carrier." He ignored her again, and shifted his position so that he was facing the wall.

"Finally, the cat has realised what a waste of space Mudbloods are."

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Hey all, thanks heaps to those who reviewed. Mary, Gil, QuizzicalSphinx, Johnny, Christina Hilt, and Phaya. 

I don't know when the next chapter will be up cos i haven't written it yet, but rest assured it will be ASAP

  



	3. Chapter 2

Hey all, Chapter 2 finally. 

I just realised I didn't put a disclaimer on Chapter 1 though so here is the disclaimer for Chapter 1 & 2 - I do NOT own Harry Potter or any other characters/places that you may find in the books. They all belong to the one and only J.K Rowling. (And Warner Brothers, Scholastic yadda yadda yadda....)

Hermione groaned inwardly. "What do you want Malfoy?" She said without bothering to look up. Ron and Harry had jumped to their feet though, "Get out Malfoy" Harry spat through gritted teeth. 

"Oh I just thought I'd come and _congratulate_ everyone's favourite mudblood for getting Head Girl."

Hermione blinked. Could that have been a compliment? A heavily veiled compliment, but a compliment nonetheless. She looked at Malfoy, and saw that the summer had also treated him well. He too had gained a slight tan, his skin no longer a sickly pallor, but a fawn-ish colour that made his silver blonde hair almost glow. His hair was a lot shorter and he had put gel in it to make it stand up in small spikes. *Hmmm, for someone who has tormented me for as long as we have known each other, he _is _rather good looking * 

"Almost makes me wish I _wasn't _Head Boy" With that he turned and flounced out of the compartment.

*I take it all back, he is ugly inside and out* Hermione seethed with anger. Couldn't he get over it already? She already knew she was a muggleborn, she didn't need reminding every two minutes, and not in such a vulgar manner at that.

"Does that mean he's not our friend anymore?" Asked Ron. Harry collapsed into fits of giggles, and Hermione soon followed telling herself that scum like Malfoy was not worth getting worked up over. Ron joined in and soon the trio was in gales of laughter recalling all the times Malfoy had been shot down by them or in front of them. "What about the time Harry snatched the Snitch right out from under his nose?" Wheezed Ron. 

"Or the time we all hexed him and Crabbe and Goyle in 4th year?" Sniggered Harry.

"Now, now, we can't forget Draco Malfoy the amazing bouncing ferret!?" Cried Hermione wiping tears (of laughter) from her eyes. 

The rest of the trip passed uneventfully, and no sooner had they pulled on their Hogwarts robes and admired each others badges (Head Girl, Prefect, and Prefect) they noticed that the train was slowing down and was about to pull into Hogsmeade station.

They got ready to disembark, and Hermione didn't even try to put Crookshanks into his carrier, not in the mood he was in. She just left the carrier in the compartment and hoped it made it's way up to her dormitory with the rest of her luggage.

The train stopped, and Hermione scooped up Crookshanks, and stepped out onto the platform. (He hardly struggled - he wasn't mad at Hermione anymore, he'd heard what Malfoy had said and decided to forgive her to make her feel better.)

She paused to let her eyes adjust to the darkness, a couple of hundred yards away she could hear Hagrids booming voice calling for the first years. When she could see sufficiently, she looked for Ron (with his height and hair he stood out a mile) and followed him and Harry onto the carriage that would take them up to the castle that is Hogwarts.

Hermione sat back in her seat and closed her eyes. Stroking Crookshanks, she ignored Ron and Harry who - again - were talking about Quidditch. It wasn't that she didn't like Quidditch, she quite enjoyed going to the inter-house matches at Hogwarts and cheering for Harry and Ron. Harry had been Seeker since first year, and Ron took the title of Keeper in 5th year, filling the vacancy left by Oliver Wood. She just didn't like to talk about it, every-second-of-the-day. 

The trip was short, but the gentle rocking of the carriages lulled her to sleep. 

Hermione woke with a start. She was still on the carriage with Ron and Harry, but she had and uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. *The dream, it was such a strange dream* She had dreamt that she was flying backwards through the air, but she had no way of stopping herself, and she couldn't see where she was going. She shuddered; she hated the feeling of not being in control. She pushed her fears aside as the carriages pulled up in front of Hogwarts though, *I spose it's not that big of a deal - it was just a dream after all*

As Hermione stepped out of the carriage, Crookshanks began to squirm so she bent down and placed him lightly on the ground. He scampered up to the castle, bounded up the stone steps, and disappeared into the entrance hall.

She started to follow him, eager to get to the feast as she had barely eaten all day.

"Ahem, excuse me Miss Granger, could I have a word please?" She turned and found herself looking into the kindly face of Albus Dumbledore.

"Of course, Headmaster." She replied.

He did not speak, only turned and made his way up to the castle expecting her to follow him. This she did without question and they walked in silence through the familiar corridors. Hermione retreated into her own thoughts as they walked; wondering what could possibly be the matter, as school hadn't even started yet.

She was jolted from her thoughts though when she realised with a start that Dumbledore had stopped walking and was looking at her with a serious expression on his face.

Blinking, she looked around and recognised where they were - but it wasn't in front of the gargoyle statue. "Sir, I thought we were going to your office - and what is my trunk doing here?" 

"Miss Granger, if you would like to sit down on your trunk, and listen to what I have to say." He paused, "As you may know, I have been headmaster of this school for nearly 50 years. Exactly 20 years ago, you were at Hogwarts."

"But Sir -!" Dumbledore held his hand up and Hermione fell silent.

"You _were _at Hogwarts Miss Granger. You came to my office on this night 20 years ago just as I was leaving to go to the feast and said that I had sent you from the future. Now, your task from what I can gather was to associate with a group who called themselves the 'Marauders'. I'm sure you know whom I am talking about."

Hermione nodded uncertainly. "But sir, why me?" 

"Well, because it was you who came back." Noticing the bewildered look on Hermione's face, he continued. "I'm not too sure exactly why, but I do have a few theories. The person had to be a Gryffindor, as all the marauders were in Gryffindor. The person would have to be of high intelligence and a level head to cope with the stress that going back in time would cause. The person would not be allowed to be recognised, and would have to have experience with time travel. This is why _you_ are the obvious choice Hermione. Harry could not go because he has a connection with James, Ron could not because he is a Weasley and being part of one of the more prominent wizarding families he would almost definitely be recognised. The same goes for the rest of the Gryffindor 7th years, either they would be recognised, or they have a connection with a student who was there at that time. You, however are perfect for the job, as you are the best student academically that this school has to offer, you have had experience with a time turner and know the laws, and most importantly, as you are muggleborn with no discernible recent magical history, _you will not be recognised_."

Hermione stood there in shock, trying to let it all sink in. Then a thought occurred to her.

"Sir, if one is able to go back in time, why doesn't someone go back and stop Harry's parents from being killed? Or even stop Voldemort from gaining power in the first place?"

"Ah - because no one did."

Hermione looked even more confused at this, so Dumbledore continued. "I only know to send you back, because you _came _back. If Lily and James were supposed to be saved by someone from the future, then they would have been, and would still be alive today. But because no one _came_ to save them, we know we must not _send_ anyone to save them.

You cannot _change_ the past Hermione; you are _part _of the past."

Hermione nodded slowly, finally understanding what Dumbledore was saying. But another question popped into her head. "Sir, what _exactly_ did I do that was so important?" 

Dumbledores eyes twinkled slightly. "That - Miss Granger - you never told me."

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Big thanks to everyone who has reviewed - all nine of you. (sorry, I'm a little bitter that no one else reviews, but I'll live........hehe)


	4. Note from the author

Hey Everyone. I know I haven't updated in such a long time, blame writers block and a life getting in the way. I didn't actually have the story planned out to the end when I started it so it's taken me a while to come up with some ideas that hopefully won't tread on anyone's toes. Also I just plain forgot about it :-S I will however try to get it started again as school is finishing soon (yay for summer!) so I will have more time to write. Thanks for all the reviews, Theoneandonly 


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